Storm Franklin piles on flooding misery with warnings issued and record levels forecast
Large parts of Shropshire are under water as days of successive storms take their toll and residents brace for worse to come, with the Severn forecast to reach its highest ever level in Shrewsbury this week.
Flood barriers are out in Shrewsbury and Ironbridge as the Severn washes over riverside areas in both towns following Storms Dudley, Eunice and Franklin.
Numerous flood warning have been issued across the county, before Ironbridge received a severe 'danger to life' flood warning on Monday afternoon, the only one issued in the country so far.
The river level at Shrewsbury's Welsh Bridge reached 4.55m by 12.45pm on Monday, before creeping up further to 4.64m by 3pm. It is forecast to rise to a maximum of 5.2m on Tuesday according to the Government's modelling, nearly double the river's normal range the bridge and within a whisker of the highest ever recorded level of 5.25m in November 2000.
Numerous town centre roads, including Smithfield Road, are closed to traffic, along with Frankwell and St Julian's Friars car parks. Roads in Longden Coleham and Coleham Head have also been shut with flood barriers put in place.
West Mid Showground staff say the showground is closed, almost two years after it disappeared under water causing thousands of pounds of damage.
Further south in Bridgnorth, residents are "bracing themselves for the worst" after the town was hit by floods for the third successive year.
The predicted peak at Bridgnorth is expected to be 5 to 5.5m on Wednesday – the highest level recorded at this measuring station was recorded at 5.26m in November 2000.
The flood warnings and alerts issued in Shropshire are:
Severe flood warning:
River Severn at the Wharfage, Ironbridge
Flood warning:
River Severn at Bridgnorth
River Severn at Buildwas
River Severn at Hampton Loade and Highley
River Severn at Ironbridge and Jackfield
River Severn at Pentre
River Severn at Quatford
River Severn at Shrawardine, Montford Bridge and Mytton
River Severn at Shrewsbury
River Severn at the Showground and The Quarry, Shrewsbury
River Teme at Leintwardine and Walford
River Teme at Ludlow
River Vyrnwy at Maesbrook
River Vyrnwy at Melverley
Flood alerts are also in place along the River Severn in Shropshire "from Shrewsbury to Upper Arley", Rea Brook and Cound Brook, the Severn Vyrnwy confluence and the Tern and Perry catchments, which could affect places such as Market Drayton and Wem.
Five of Wales' six flood warnings are in Powys. They are:
River Severn at Buttington
River Severn at Criggion
River Severn at Llandrinio
River Severn at Pool Quay and Trewern
River Severn at Welshpool
Flood alerts are in place for the Upper Severn in Powys, from Llandrinio all the way down to Llanidloes and including towns such as Welshpool and Newtown, and the Vyrnwy catchment, which includes places such as Llanymynech.
Shropshire Council has urged people only to travel if they need to and not to enter flood water under any circumstances. It said its highways teams were working around the clock to close roads and car parks, and make sure people who need them have sandbags to protect their homes and businesses.
Carolyn Healy, borough councillor for the Ironbridge Gorge and Telford & Wrekin cabinet member for the environment, said that devastating events were becoming more and more common.
"What used to be something that happened once every 10 or 20 years is now happening once a year or more than once a year in some cases," she said.
"For residents and businesses that doesn't give you a lot of time to recover or prepare - drying out your property takes a long time."
The deployment of flood barriers along the Wharfage in Ironbridge over the weekend brought back painful memories of last year and especially the year before, where the force of the Severn pushed similar barriers back, gouging the road in places. Businesses and homes were flooded and residents counted the costs for months.
Thankfully, Councillor Healy said, residents and business owners have since been able to access resilience funding from central government to help make their own properties safer in the event of flooding. The council has also been able to identify different points at which properties in the Gorge flood for a more directed approach to flood prevention.
But this week's water levels will have been a depressing reminder of past disasters for those who live and work along the river.
Councillor Healy said: "You just really feel for those people who are affected. I wish it was possible to make sure nowhere flooded at all but without wholesale changes further up the river...
"I just hope this is it for the winter."
In Bridgnorth properties on Severnside, Severn Terrace, Riverside and caravan parks, as well as properties in and around Hampton Loade and Highley, may be affected.
Sandbags can be picked up at any time at the front of the council’s depot at Stanley Lane, Bridgnorth, WV16 4SF.
Those living in Shrewsbury can collect sandbags from outside the Spar in Coleham, Smithfield Road and Chester Street.
"If supplies run out at any of these places, more sandbags are available at the council’s Longden Road depot," a spokesman said.
Roads upstream, including the busy A483 trunk road at Llanymynech and several smaller routes in the Melverley area, are already underwater. Firefighters on Sunday night rescued five people from vehicles trapped in flood water and were also called out to a car fire caused by an electrical fault after the driver had gone through water.
At Leintwardine near Ludlow the River Teme has burst its banks, shutting the High Street, and there are also problems in Clun.
In Mid Wales some residents in Llandinam south of Newtown had to be rescued by boat after houses flooded on Sunday evening and the Newtown to Welshpool Road was shut. A crash on Monday morning has again closed the A483 near to the Horseshoes Inn.
The Severn in Llanidloes burst its banks and Newtown residents say they have never seen the Severn so high through the town.
Video also showed the river racing through Newtown at a leve; Paul Williams, of H18-PDW Photography, said he had never seen before in 48 years of living in the town.
Storm Franklin has added to travel problems with Transport for Wales cancelling all trains between Shrewsbury and Aberystwyth.
A number of other services that run through through Shropshire on the line between Hereford and Wrexham have also been cancelled, while others have been delayed.
The Ceiriog and Dee bridges between Chirk and Ruabon on the A483/A5 were also shut due to the storm, while Traffic Wales also closed the A483 between Welshpool and Newtown because of flooding.
Trees and branches, already loosened by Storms Dudley and Eunice, continue to fall with one blocking the Berriew to Castle Caereinion Road near Welshpool for several hours yesterday.
In Llanfyllin the River Cain burst its banks and firefighters had to pump out flooded homes. Some residents were force to leave their homes.
Further afield residents in Didsbury in South Manchester had to leave their homes and many spent the night in emergency accommodation after a flood warning with threat to life was issued for the River Mersey.
